Once upon a Time: Zombie Apocalypse
by MissiB
Summary: What if the land of fairytales was hit by a zombie apocalypse? Who would die? Who would turn? And, more importantly, who would survive? This is something I've concocted especially for Halloween, I hope you enjoy it :)
1. Chapter 1

_**Disclaimer: Once Upon A Time does not belong to me! All characters and references to the show belong to ABC and Channel 5.**_

_It was a normal day in the land of fairytales, princesses were marrying princes, fairy's were making fairy dust, and evil queens were feeding pretty girls poisoned apples._

_Then, a terrible plague hit, turning the residents of Fairytale Land into carnivorous, rampaging zombies._

_These beings are fast, their numbers are increasing, and worst of all, magic doesn't work on them._

_Who did the infected find? Who were the ones who were devoured?_

_And, more importantly, who survived?_

Once Upon A Time: Zombie Apocalypse

Chapter 1

They were everywhere.

All over the village, the infected were forcing their way into the homes of her people, dragging out the screaming, fighting, crying humans and consuming their flesh.

And Queen Regina could do nothing, for she was trapped by the starving hoards, who were fighting to get in, pounding on the door and roaring.

Despite her begging him not to, her huntsman had tried to get out there, to protect the people, and they had taken him the second he had walked through the door.

He was gone. One of Them.

And what could Regina do? She was trapped inside her bedroom, with no means of escape.

Except...

Regina strode to her full length mirror, it was the last thing she wanted to do, but she was desperate.

She stood in front of the mirror, and called for help.

"Hello?" she called to her reflection "Can anyone hear me? Please, help me! I'm trapped, they've taken everyone. Is anyone there?" she begged.

A wave of panic took her as her reflection stayed exactly that, a reflection. Those _things _were going to break through the castle door any minuet, she was going to die-

Then, the glass rippled, and the Evil Queens breath caught as she saw who was in the mirror.

She had expected Maleficent at the very least, maybe even the Blue Fairy, but she never expected-

"Hello, Dearie" said Rumplestiltskin, his clothes were torn, and covered in blood, but he was grinning all over his impish face as he stared through the mirror at Regina "Need a hand?"

Regina nodded, desperation taking over completely "Help me!" she begged.

Rumplestiltskin's grin grew wider.

OUAT

"_Thomas!" _Ella screamed, scanning the village around her castle as the carriage she had escaped into sped away from the infected hoard. _"Thomas! Where are you?!"_

"_ELLA!"_

She nearly cried with relief, there he was, running as fast as he could to the carriage, screaming his wife's name as he sprinted, the zombies following. They were catching up.

"_THOMAS! RUN!" _Ella screamed, opening the carriage door and reaching out to him, leaning out as far as she could, her golden hair flying in her face.

Thomas caught her hand, momentarily running alongside the speeding carriage before Ella tugged him inside. She slammed the door shut as the hoard attempted to close in on the horses leading it, and as Ella pulled her husband into a sitting position, a wave of paralysing fear caught her as she say the infected at the castle gates, attempting to prevent their escape.

"Oh my gods..._HURRY!" _Ella screamed at the driver, and she heard the crack of the whip as he attempted to make the horses run harder.

Out of the windows, Ella and Thomas could see Them, running alongside the carriage, their bloody, insane faces contorted in fury as they attempted to stop the carriage.

_This was supposed to be the happiest day of my life, _she thought as thousands of bloodthirsty zombies ran to the carriage, thinking back to the moment at the wedding reception, right before the horde had run in. Rumplestiltskin had just come and told her his despicable price for her happiness. Her yet to be conceived first born. At the time she had thought that nothing could've made that moment any worse.

Then They had come, the flesh eating army that was now running alongside the carriage, the blood on their flesh and clothing still shining in the moonlight.

Amongst them, Thomas saw a flash of white hair, and suddenly he could see his own father sprinting after them, his clothes and face covered in blood, roaring inhumanely at Thomas' horrified face.

"Father..." he whispered, as the carriage sped out of the castle gates that the zombies had failed to close.

For a moment, neither Thomas nor Ella could say anything. Then Ella turned to him.

"What do we do now?" she whispered, and Thomas looked at his wife, her beautiful face terrified, the lovely eyes he had so admired the night they met showing nothing but fear.

He took her hand in his, and looked into those eyes "We find somewhere safe" he said "Somewhere secure, where they can't get to us"

"Where?" Ella begged, her voice shaking as she heard a fist hit the carriage door.

Thomas suddenly looked grim, he hadn't wanted to resort to this, but now there was no other choice.

"We have to go to-"

And then they were both screaming as the infected caught the carriage, dragged off the driver, and pushed and pulled on the cart until it had come to a complete.

Stop.

OUAT

Snow White stopped, leaning against a tree as she attempted to relieve a stitch in her side. Charming turned to her, lowering his blood-stained sword as he pulled on her hand. Snow White saw it glint in the sunlight.

"No, Snow come on, we can't stop!" he said, attempting to somehow pull her through the huge forest that they had run into when the infected had started to chase them.

They were still following, and Snow White knew that if the didn't move now, they were both going to die.

"Yes, I know!" she gasped, and once again they were running.

They had been running through the forest for what felt like hours, when the horde had attacked, Charming and Snow White had been dancing at Ella's wedding ball,everything had been so lovely and peaceful. Then They had barreled into the dance hall, and almost everyone at the ball had been killed, or turned.

Suddenly, Snow White's foot caught on something, she lost her grip on Charming's hand, and fell screaming to the ground.

"_Snow!" _Charming cried, bending to help her up "Are you alright?"

Snow White nodded "Yes" she said, looking to the ground to see what she had tripped over "I just fell over th-"

She stopped. She thought she had tripped over a tree root or maybe a rock, but it was neither of those things.

It was a body.

She was young, maybe a little older than Snow White, her silk, gold-trimmed dress suggested that she came from either money or royalty, and her blonde hair was soaked in the blood that was seeping out of missing chunk in her neck.

"Abigail..."

Snow White turned her eyes away from the horrific sight, bile rising in her throat, at the sound of her husbands horrified whisper. He was as white as a sheet, and she could see tears in the corners of his eyes.

"What?" she whispered. Charming blinked firmly, and looked at Snow White.

"I know her. She's King Midas' daughter she...she helped me find you" his voice broke, and Snow White could see tears running down his face.

"Oh my gods..." she said, the wave of empathy bringing tears to her own eyes "James, I-"

Suddenly, she heard movement very close to them in the woods, and from the look she caught on Charming's face, he heard it too.

Slowly, they both stood up, and turned in the direction of the noise. When they first heard it, it had sounded incredibly close, almost as if it were from right behind them.

"We have to get out of here" Charming whispered, raising his sword, eyes scanning the forest for any danger.

Snow White was about to agree, when she saw a flash of light blue clothing, and a corner of a set of gossamer wings.

Snow White sighed in relief, a smile breaking out on her porcelain face "Charming, it's her! The Blue Fairy!" and she ran towards the noise.

"Snow, no! Wait!" Charming shouted, but she didn't listen, and continued to run until she came to the tree where she had seen the mystical fairy.

"Blue-" Snow White started to call out her name, but for the second time that day, her words were stopped by the terrible scene unfolding in front of her.

It was the Blue Fairy alright, but her blue clothes were covered in blood, her hair had come loose from it's usual high style, and was tangled and clotted with mud, and her hands were cut, the fingernails broken and encrusted with scarlet.

And worst of all, she was devouring the flesh from the neck of a blonde knight, who by now was definitely dead.

Snow White watched in horror as the Blue Fairy, the symbol for everything good in the world, tore another strip of flesh from the corpse she was ingesting. From where she was stood, Snow White could see the deep bite-mark in the fairy's left forearm.

She had been turned.

Slowly, she tried to back away, her stomach tightening as she tried not to vomit.

_SNAP!_

Snow White froze as the twig she had trodden on snapped between her foot. Panic rooted her to the spot and she stood as still as she could. Barely breathing.

The Blue Fairy had frozen too, pausing at the sudden, microscopic sound. Slowly, she turned her head, and Snow White was looking into eyes that were no longer a dark, chocolatey brown, but were now white, with small black pupils.

The princess and the fairy zombie stared at eachother, and it was at that moment that Charming caught up with his wife.

"Snow-" he too stopped a he saw the Blue Fairy, who, at the sound of his voice, jerked her head in Charming's direction. The Blue Fairy snarled, the body she had been feasting on dropped to the ground, and she took a step towards the prince and princess.

"Snow" Charming whispered again, the Blue Fairy took another step forward "We have to run. Now"

Snow White nodded, and they turned back into the forest, running as hard as they could, with the demonic Blue Fairy roaring in hunger as she pursued them.

OUAT

"Hansel!" the blonde girl cried, her head darting around the dimly lit tunnel. "Hansel! Where are you?!"

"Hansel!" called the brunette woman at her side, rubbing her bloodied hands on her blue dress "Hansel! Speak to us! Where are you?!"

"Gretel! Belle! I'm over here!"

Belle sighed in relief, the boy's voice was coming from further in the tunnel, she allowed herself a small smile as Gretel shouted furiously.

"HANSEL! Get back down here right NOW!" she bellowed, and slowly, the small, brown haired boy that had worried them so appeared in the dim light, a sheepish look on his face.

"I'm sorry" he said, moving next to his sister.

Belle knelt down so that she was eye level with the young boy, the long metal bar that had previously belonged to the door of her cell slacking in her grip.

"Hansel" she said soothingly, and he looked into her eyes "We don't know what's out there any more" she used the bar to point at the tunnel wall, where just outside rested an army of starving zombies "This is not the time to go wandering off. We all have to stay together, do you understand?"

Hansel nodded, and Belle pulled herself upright. She then positioned Hansel and Gretel on either side of her, and they continued walking down the tunnels of the Evil Queens palace.

As they walked, Belle glanced at the two children, they were barely twelve, and already she thought they were remarkable.

_If it wasn't for them, I would still be trapped in that cell the damn Queen put me in._

Belle thought back to when the zombies had attacked. She had been in her damp, dirty cell, memories of the past haunting her when she heard the first scream.

A little while later, her cell had been surrounded by most of the Queens knights, reaching through the bars and hammering on the cage door in the effort to kill her.

Belle herself had screamed when the door started to give away, a long, metal cell bar falling into the room. Belle had picked it up, telling herself that if she was going down, she was going down fighting.

But then, a miracle happened. She had heard a rumbling behind her, and turned to see that the old stone wall behind her had opened.

Two children had stood there, a girl in a brown dress with long blonde hair, and a brown haired boy in a waistcoat.

Belle had looked into their eyes. They were normal.

"Come on!" the girl had said, looking over at the zombies fearfully "Quickly!"

Belle hadn't hesitated, she had gripped the bar tight in her hand and ran through that passageway just as the zombies broke through.

The stone wall had closed just in time.

The children had introduced themselves as Hansel and Gretel and that they had been running around in the tunnels, looking for a way to escape when they came across a lever in the wall.

Belle's cell had been a secret way into the castle this whole time.

Suddenly, a hungry groan interrupted Belle's thoughts. Quickly, she pushed Hansel and Gretel ahead of her, telling them to run, and then spun around, her bar gripped in both hands.

It was one of the knights who had been turned, his helmet was off, and Belle could see that he had once been handsome, his wavy brown hair was half flattened to his head by other people's blood, and his broad right shoulder was soaked in blood that surrounded a bite mark. He wore a bow and arrow on his back.

Belle had heard rumours of this man. He was the Evil Queens huntsman. He had been a prisoner of Regina's too, although not in the same way as Belle, something for which she was profoundly grateful for...

Suddenly, the huntsman charged at her, his arms already outstretched to grab onto her and bite into her skin.

She didn't even give him a chance to get close. Belle swung the bar as hard as the could into the huntsman's head, breaking his head apart and splashing it across the tunnel walls.

The huntsman's now headless body dropped, and Belle wiped away the blood that had splashed onto her face, then she wiped away her tears as she wept. She hadn't wanted to kill him.

She had never wanted to kill anyone.

But now, things were different. Now she couldn't afford to hesitate, one moment of mercy against the infected could be fatal.

Once she had finished crying, she wiped her face, turned away from the corpse, and found her way back to the children.

OUAT

"Everything alright, Dearie?"

Regina didn't bother to answer him. After he had brought her to his palace through the mirror, she had settled herself in Rumplestiltskin's dining room, she was now sat in the chair at the head of his ridiculously long table.

_Maybe he's compensating for something..._she smirked as for the first time that day she felt something other than fear.

Rumplestiltskin watched her as she smiled, and felt his own lips twitch "What could there possibly be to smile about, Your Majesty?" he asked her in that high voice of his.

Regina shook her head, dropping the smirk "Nothing. Nothing at all"

They were both silent then, listening to the screams and cries for help that were coming from far-away villages and towns.

Cities.

Kingdoms.

Regina couldn't stand it any more. She had to know "What's happening out there?" she asked the imp.

Rumplestiltskin looked out of a curtainless window. The one's that had never been replaced since-

He shook his head, no, he wouldn't think about her now. He would never forgive himself if he broke down in front of that bitch Regina.

Clearing away all thoughts of his lost love, Rumplestiltskin looked out of the window. The land surrounding his estate was mostly empty, there were few who chose to live a less than a thousand miles away from the Dark One.

Movement from the outside caught his eye, and Rumplestiltskin saw two people approaching the Dark Palace.

For a moment-and this was something he was never going to admit to anyone-he panicked, and almost looked around the room for a blunt instrument to use against the zombies, preferably the queen.

Then he noticed that the people approaching-one a man dressed in princes dress robes and carrying a sword, the other a very white woman with raven black hair and a in a pink dress-were not the blood crazed creatures that he had seen right before he disappeared from Cinderella's ball, these two were running frantically running towards his palace, holding hands in an attempt to keep up with stay together.

At the sight of the Dark Palace, the woman pulled back on her partner, pulling him to a stop. It looked like they were arguing for a moment, the woman shook her head a lot, but eventually they were running towards the Palace again.

He recognised them instantly of course. Who could ever forget the Fairest in the Land Snow White and the dashing Prince Charming?

Rumplestiltskin turned around, a devilish grin spreading across his face as he looked over to the table at the Regina. She raised a dark eyebrow questioningly.

Rumplestiltskin's grin got wider "Well, guess who's going to be joining us for dinner..."

_**O.K you gorgeous people this is my first chapter for the Zombie Apocalypse, please review it with your honest to God opinions (Can I just point out that I called you gorgeous? Not that that should sway you in any way...) I'm going to be bringing you the next chapter as soon as I can. (I'm determined to have this finished by Halloween, so the second chapters going to be out soooon!)**_

_**And by the way can I just thank the Darlings who reviewed Smashed for me? I don't even know you and already I love you because you are so damn kind!**_


	2. Chapter 2

_**Disclaimer: Once Upon A Time does not belong to me! All characters and references to the show belong to ABC and Channel 5. **_

Once Upon a Time: Zombie Apocalypse.

Chapter 2

"YOU?!"

Regina stared in horror and disbelief at her step-daughter. Despite the fact that her black hair was tangled, her white skin nicked, and her clothes covered in blood and mud, she was still stunningly beautiful.

And the Evil Queen had never seen anything more repulsive.

She rounded on Rumplestiltskin, who was grinning like a little boy on Christmas morning "_Why,_would you let _her _in?!" she shrieked, jabbing a finger at Snow White.

Rumplestiltskin shrugged and giggled, a huge grin on his face at the Evil Queen's fury "It was the only way to stop her husband from _begging_"

"I didn't _beg!" _snapped Charming, like Snow White, he too was covered in blood and mud, and he was glaring at the Dark One as though he could burn a hole in his face.

"'Help us! Please! We'll be killed!'" Rumplestiltskin mimicked Charming's voice in a high, childish tone "That doesn't sound like begging to you, Dearie?"

"Listen you little-" Charming growled, but Snow White cut him off when she addressed her stepmother.

"Trust me, Regina, we wouldn't be here if we had any other choice" Regina snorted, and Snow White narrowed her eyes.

"In fact, I can't help but wonder what _you're _doing here. Did you really get so scared that you resorted to coming _here?_" she folded her arms over her chest.

Regina's eyes blazed with fire, and the hand she raised was covered in pulsating, purple tendrils of magic.

Charming stepped in front of his wife, sword raised "Do not touch her!" he shouted.

Regina ignored him, and raised her hand higher. Charming's sword lifted and he stepped forward to strike the queen.

Then, everything stopped, Regina and Charming were suddenly encased in a shroud of purple magic. Regina tried to bring down her hand but it was stuck. Charming tried to lower his sword, but he too was trapped.

A high giggle came from behind Charming, and Regina saw Rumplestiltskin stood behind him, his right hand raised and coated in the same magic she had been about to launch at Snow White. If she could've moved her eyes at all, she would've glared.

"Now" the imp said, walking into both party's line of sight "Is this all _really _necessary?"

"Let him go!" Snow White shouted. Rumplestiltskin acted as though he couldn't hear her.

"Hell has broken loose on our land, Dearies, the last thing we need is to turn on each-other"

He lowered his hand, and the purple magic binding the queen and prince disappeared. Both lowered their arms, but didn't take their eyes of each-other.

At that moment, there was a frantic knock on the door. Everyone in the dining hall froze, waiting to hear the roaring an snarling of the zombies.

None came, instead, there was more knocking, and a female voice cried out:

"HELP! HELP US, PLEASE!"

Snow White gasped "Oh my gods! Its Ella!"

Quickly following Ella, a male voice started to scream and hammer on the door:

"PLEASE! OPEN THE DOOR! RUMPLESTILTSKIN, PLEASE!"

"That's Thomas!" Charming said, and he watched Snow White rush out of the dining room, closely followed by Rumplestiltskin, who giggled again in anticipation.

While they waited for the princess and the Dark One to return, Regina came up behind Charming, and he stiffened as she whispered in his ear:

"You won't always be around to protect her, James. At some point, you're going to let your guard down, and your beloved True Love will _die"_

Suddenly, Charming was facing the Queen, he was glaring into her deceptively beautiful face, and the iron tip of his sword was at her throat.

Regina didn't flinch, and simply smirked.

"Then you should know, _your Highness"_ he said the words with a nasty sarcastic sneer "That the second you harm my wife, you. Will. Die"

He lowered the sword just as Snow White came in, a hysterical Princess Ella tucked under her shoulder. Rumplestiltskin and Prince Thomas were walking side by side, not speaking, and Charming was shocked to see that there was so much blood on him there was more red than skin.

"By the gods...Thomas what happened?" Charming strode towards his friend, sheathing his sword, as he got closer to Thomas, he could see that he was shaking.

"W-we tried to escape" he stuttered "We had just got away from the castle in a carriage when the...the zombies got hold of it. We barely escaped"

"I-I-It was h-h-horrible!" Ella suddenly wailed, and all heads turned to her. Tears were still trailing down her face, creating a track in a patch of blood smeared there.

"Th-th-they t-tried to get into th-the carriage! Th-they tried to...they tried to..." Ella could no longer speak for sobbing hysterically. Snow White rubbed her friends arm in an effort to comfort her. Thomas approached his wife and took her in his arms, where she continued to sob uncontrollably into his embrace.

Snow White addressed Thomas as he tried to sooth Ella "Thomas, did you see any...were there any survivors?"

Rumplestiltskin and Regina, who had turned away in disgust at the blonde princesses merciless wailing, suddenly turned their attention back to the situation at hand, they, along with Charming, awaited Thomas' answer.

He shook his head "From what I could tell, they got everyone" he swallowed, and his voice suddenly became tight "Including my father"

Ella's weeping suddenly ceased, and her head came up from Thomas' shoulder. He was trying not to show it, but she could tell that her husband was holding back a lot of grief.

"Oh, Thomas" Snow White gasped as Charming came over and rested a comforting hand of the princes shoulder.

"I'm sorry" he said, and Ella reached up and caressed Thomas' cheek. He smiled down at her.

Regina snorted "Yes, yes, the prince lost his daddy and we're all really sad. But right now we need to ask ourselves a very important question: What happens now?"

"What are you talking about, Regina?" Snow White snapped, and the queen raised an eyebrow.

"Well, I don't know about you, Step-Daughter, but I don't want to live with a psychopathic beast for the rest of my life"

Rumplestiltskin gasped, mocking hurt feelings "Oh, Dearie, if _only _you knew how much that hurts" Regina ignored him, waiting for someone would answer her.

No-one did.

OUAT

They had finally reached the end of the tunnels, and it was here that Belle stopped, catching Hansel and Gretel as they tried to pull on the lever that would open up the wall and get them out of the castle.

"Wait" she whispered "We don't know if it's safe. They could be out there"

"But...How are we going to get out?" Gretel whispered, glancing at her brother, who still looked so scared.

Belle looked at the exit. She then let go of the children. When she grasped the lever with one hand, her iron bar in the other, she looked back at Hansel and Gretel's confused expressions.

"I'm going to go out there, you wait here, and if it's safe I'll knock on the wall three times. If I don't come back you have to find another way out, do you understand?"

Hansel and Gretel nodded, still looking fearful.

Hansel wrung his hands together, looking timidly at Belle "You are coming back though, aren't you Belle?"

Gretel took Hansel's hand, she too looked at Belle, she wore the same pleading look her brother had, and Belle knew she was asking the same question.

Belle pulled on the lever, and the wall opened, revealing the courtyard outside the Evil Queens castle.

"I'll try" she said, and, with the bar raised in front of her, she walked out into the open.

OUAT

Night was beginning to fall.

Belle looked around the still-visible land around the Evil Queens castle. Bodies were scattered around the courtyard, several carriages had been turned over and torn apart, and blood almost entirely covered the stone ground.

But it was completely clear of the infected. Belle lowered her weapon and walked a few steps, looking all around the area surrounding the castle. Nothing.

Belle went back to the tunnel entrance, and knocked on it three times. She heard a click, and a door-shaped section of the castle wall opened up. Hansel and Gretel walked out hesitantly.

"It's O.k" Belle tried to reassure them "They're not out there"

"Where are they?" Gretel asked as the wall slid back into place.

Belle shrugged "I don't know, Gretel" she looked back at the land, looking out towards the village. It too looked empty.

"What do we do now?" Hansel asked.

"Well, we need to find somewhere to stay tonight. I don't think it would be a good idea to be out at nightfall"

The children nodded, and Belle continued.

"And in the morning, we'll head for..." she hesitated, although she had though of nothing else for months, Belle was now hesitant to suggest it out loud.

She sighed, she had to give them an answer "We head for Rumplestiltskin's Palace"

Hansel and Gretel gasped, Hansel clutched his sister, and they both stared at Belle like she'd lost her mind.

"But...He's evil!" Hansel whimpered.

"He'll turn us into snails and squish us!" Gretel cried.

"He could be one of Them!" Hansel shouted.

"No!" Belle said sharply, that thought had been playing at the back of her mind ever since Hansel and Gretel had saved her, but she refused to let that thought in, to even consider that he might be-

"No" Belle said again, her voice gentler this time, and she knelt before them, her hands dropping the iron bar and going to rest on their shoulders "Listen to me, I know it's scary, but right now, the Dark Palace-" they flinched at the mention of Rumplestiltskin's home "-Is the safest, most secure place we can go to"

"But magic doesn't work on Them!" cried Gretel "How can _that place _be safe?"

"There are weapons there, non-magical ones" Belle said, thinking back to the time, long ago, when she had admired the trident in Rumplestiltskin's home, and she knew he had a collection of battle swords.

"Weapons we can use against the infected"

"He'll hurt us" Hansel whispered, and Belle felt a crush of hurt at those words, but she refused to let it show.

"I know you're scared" she said soothingly, looking them both in the eyes "But right now, everything is scary, and that means that we might have to make choices ti do things that frighten us"

They still looked wary, and Belle sighed "Do you honestly think I'd let him hurt you?" she said, the words driving spikes into her heart.

Hansel and Gretel missed a beat, but nodded "O.k"

Belle stood up, picking up her iron bar.

"Then lets go find somewhere to stay for the night"

OUAT

A scream sounded through the Dark Palace and a groggy Ella woke up in the small bedroom where Rumplestiltskin had allowed her and Snow White to sleep.

Thomas and Charming had stayed at the dining room door the previous night, on guard in case any of the infected found a way in, and as far as Ella knew, Regina was sleeping in one of the dungeons.

Ella had to admit, that thought had made her smile. She had heard terrible things about Snow White's step-mother.

Careful not to wake up the sleeping princess, Ella stole out of the room. She walked down the long corridor and headed to the dining room, going to check on her love and Snow White's.

But when she walked inside, they weren't in there.

Ella frowned, and walked further into the room. Last night, before she had retired to bed, Thomas and James had been standing guard at the door, their swords drawn.

They had sworn to them that they wouldn't move from their position. So what the hell had happened?

Ella looked around the room, and all she could see were Rumplestiltskin's trinkets, his spinning wheel, and the strange lump that rested below the spindle.

The lump suddenly stirred, and with a shock Ella realised that the lump was Rumplestiltskin himself. Asleep at the spinning wheel.

_He SLEEPS there? _Ella thought. Just when he thought he couldn't get any stranger.

Suddenly, the Dark One stirred again, and murmured something in his sleep. From the murmured sentence, Ella caught one word:

"...Belle..."

_Belle? _Ella turned the name over in her head with wonder, _who's Belle? Is she his wife?_

Ella allowed herself a small chuckle at that. The infamous, terrifying Rumplestiltskin with a wife!

And then, at that exact moment, the door leading to the corridor Ella had just emerged from exploded open, and a blood soaked James burst through, his sword dripping blood onto the marble floor.

OUAT

_3 hours earlier_

"Did you hear that?" Charming whispered to Thomas.

Thomas nodded. He had definitely heard something stirring in the depths of the palace "It could just be one of the girls" he whispered back.

Charming gave him a look, and Thomas shrugged "It could be!" he said loudly, making the sleeping figure at the spinning wheel stir in his sleep.

"Shh!" Charming hissed "Don't wake him up!" the last thing they needed was a pissed off sorcerer turning them into something horrible like a slug because they had interrupted his nap-time.

"Sorry" Thomas whispered sheepishly.

Then, making them both jump, a _Crash! _Reached them from somewhere inside the palace.

Charming and Thomas looked at each-other, nodded, and headed out of the dining hall, moving to meet whatever had broken into the Palace.

OUAT

They were in the very depths of Rumplestiltskin's Palace, just above the dungeons where Regina slept. It was a torch-lit area of the castle and one of the windows had been shattered.

And it was there that the princes found five of the infected lurking in the corridor.

When they saw them, Charming and Thomas hid in a dip in the wall, cautiously looking out to see what they were up against.

With a shock, Charming realised that he recognised some of them. There was a woman with blonde hair and a blood stained purple dress that he knew was Maleficent, a portly, grey haired man who he saw was Abigail's father, King Midas, and the old woodsman, Geppetto.

The other two he didn't know, one was a man around Charming's age, he wore a long blood splattered coat and a battered top hat. The other was a brown-haired fairy in a pink dress, it too was covered in red.

And all of them, somewhere on their bodies, had at least one or two chunks of flesh missing from their bodies, and their mouths were covered in dried blood.

"We have to attack" Thomas whispered in Charming's ear "There's no other way, if we spare them, they could kill us all"

Charming nodded. He then turned to face Thomas, and stuck out his hand. Thomas looked at it for a moment, and then grasped it. The men shook hands.

"It's been an honour" Charming whispered.

"Likewise" Thomas whispered back.

They broke their handshake, and brought forward their swords. Thomas raised three fingers, and slowly lowered them one by one, until only one finger remained.

He lowered it, and, swords raised, both princes charged at the infected.

As soon as they heard the sound of running feet, the zombies turned in the direction of the noise. When they saw the princes, they snarled in hunger, and ran furiously to meet them.

Charming was first met by Maleficent, she roared furiously as she attempted to claw at his face, Charmings sword swung down in an arch and sliced the witches head in half, her body had barely touched the ground when the man in the top hat came out of nowhere and grabbed his neck, bringing him forward to bite into his skin. Again Charming lifted the sword and plunged it through the zombies forehead, torrents of blood splashing onto his skin and already stained clothes.

Charming suddenly heard Thomas' scream of agony and fear, he looked over at his friend to see King Midas lying on the floor with a split skull. Thomas' sword was still buried in the zombie's head, and Thomas himself was pinned to the floor, roaring and crying out in pain as Geppetto and the pink-clothed fairy tore strips of his flesh from his body and devoured them hungrily.

"_JAMES!" _Thomas screamed his name, and Charming was finally snapped out of his frozen state of horror. Roaring himself, he swung his sword in a sideways arch and decapitated both zombies with one swing.

The headless bodies fell to the ground next to Thomas, Charming kicked them away, and looked down at Cinderella's husband.

It was a terrible sight. Flesh and meat had been torn from the young princes face and neck and torso, bone was visible, and the blood pouring from the wounds was pooling around him on the cold stone floor.

And worst of all, Thomas was still alive.

Well, in one sense.

Thomas' eyes were no longer their normal brown, but were pure white with only black pupils defining them, the eyes focused on Charming, and a hungry snarl emitted from the dead royal as he rose from his dying place.

The sword that Charming wielded had never felt heavier in his hands, in desperation, he tried to appeal to the prince.

"Thomas" he said, his voice shaking as the zombie that had just moments before been his fellow survivor took a step towards him "Thomas, it's me. It's James! I'm your friend. Thomas, please, you don't want to kill me"

Thomas didn't stop, or show any recognition of Charming, so he tried a different tack:

"You have a wife! Remember her, Thomas? Ella, your Cinderella, you found her glass slipper at the ball and it led you to her-"

Suddenly, Thomas ran at Charming. His lips were stretched back in a ravenous scream, and Charming had no choice but to bring up his sword to defend himself.

He caught him right below his chin, and pushed the blade until the tip broke through Thomas' skull, destroying his brain.

Charming stared into Thomas' eyes as he died, watched his short existence as one of the infected leave him, and for a moment Charming could've sworn that Thomas could recognise him.

Then, he finally stopped moving.

The sudden weight on his sword made Charming realise he had been holding his breath. As he pulled his sword out of Thomas' skull, he let it out, along with a pained, roaring scream.

He looked at Thomas' fallen body only a moment more, and then ran through the Dark Palace until he came to the door that led to the dining hall. When he reached it, he exploded through the door, where Ella and Rumplestiltskin-who had woken up at the sudden bang-were residing inside.

He stared at Ella's horrified expression as she took in the blood covering his clothes, skin and blade. Rumplestiltskin was also eyeing his blood drenched body, a look of curiosity on his gold skinned face.

Ella spoke, and asked a question Charming had knew was coming, but was dreading it all the same.

"Where's Thomas?"

He looked at her, and shook his head sorrowfully.

"I'm sorry, Ella" he said to her before turning to Rumplestiltskin, who still wore a look of curiosity on his face.

"Five of Them got into the Palace" he told him, and a look of shock, closely followed by anger, replaced his curious expression.

Charming continued "T-Thomas and I went down there, we fought them but..."

He looked back at Ella, already tears had started to form around her eyes, and it was with stones in his heart that he broke the news.

"Ella, they turned him" Ella gasped, and tears streaked down her pretty face "He attacked me, I had to...I had to kill him, Ella"

"NOOOO!"Ella wailed, collapsing onto the ground, sobbing so hard it came out in horrible, watery gasps _"NOOOOO!"_she suddenly clutched her chest, and Charming was sure that her delicate little heart was breaking.

_**Alright, my lovelies! This is the second chapter of my Zombie Apocalypse, I've tried to sort out the paragraph problem and I hope it worked.**_

_**Same deal as before, read and review it, and if you have any complaints, just be brutally honest (Would now be a good time to point out that you are looking FABULOUSLY gorgeous today?)**_

_**So now that this has been sorted, I'm going to get cracking with the next instalment, stay tuned for...**_

_**Once Upon a Time: Zombie Apocalypse Chapter 3!**_


	3. Chapter 3

_**Disclaimer: Once Upon A Time does not belong to me! All characters and references to the show belong to ABC and Channel 5. **_

_**I also borrowed a line from "Broken" which is still an OUAT reference...Never mind me, I'm talking crap.**_

Once Upon a Time: Zombie Apocalypse.

Chapter 3

Belle awoke to a scream.

Automatically, she grabbed the iron bar she had taken from from her cell in the queens castle, and flew up from the makeshift bed she had created from a couple of old sacks. She whipped her head around, looking for the infected that was attacking them.

Then she saw Gretel, who was thrashing around in an attempt to be free of the blanket that she was tangled in.

"_Papa!" _she screamed _"Papa! NO!"_

"Gretel!" Belle shouted, dropping the bar on the ground and leaning over the screaming child to shake her shoulders "Gretel, wake up! You're dreaming!"

"_PAPA!" _Gretel screamed one last time, and then bolted upright, her eyes now open and swimming with tears.

"It's alright" Belle soothed her, and she sniffed "It's alright, it was just a dream"

Gretel dissolved into tears and leaned her head against Belle's shoulder, weeping horribly as Belle held her and stroked her hair, murmuring soothing words.

"Th-they k-k-killed him!" Gretel sobbed in Belle's arms "I-I _s-saw it!"_

"Ssshh" Belle said, still trying to comfort the poor child.

She then remembered that she had settled Hansel in the same bed as his sister. She looked over at the other side of the bed to ask Hansel if he was alright, no doubt the screaming must've woken him.

But he wasn't there.

Belle stared at the empty patch where Hansel had lain, as though she could somehow conjure the boy through sheer willpower.

But she couldn't. He was gone.

"Gretel?" Belle said, Gretel finally stopped most of the crying and looked up at her.

"W-what?"

"Where's your brother?" Belle looked down into the Gretel's tear streaked face. Her eyes were now wide with fear.

"I don't know" she whispered.

Automatically, Belle and Gretel sprang apart, they ran through the small, one floored house where they had stayed the night, calling and screaming Hansel's name.

"Hansel?" Gretel cried as she hurtled into the small kitchen. Other than an overturned chair and a broken table, there was nothing, no-one, inside.

Gretel clutched at her hair and turned to leave, but just as she was about to go, movement out of the window caught her eye, and she swiveled back into the kitchen and stared out of the window.

And there was Hansel, he was stood on a small hill in front of the cottage, and he was standing with his back to her, but Gretel could tell from his clothes that it was him.

"_Hansel!" _she screamed, running out of the kitchen and flying through the front door. She hurtled towards the small boy.

"HANSEL!" she yelled, and finally he turned around, his eyes focused on his sister, but he didn't speak.

"Hansel!" Gretel called as she reached him "What...what are you doing out here?" she gasped.

Wordlessly, Hansel pointed out in front of him, his little hand shaking.

Gretel looked, and what she saw rooted her to the spot with fear.

There were hundreds of Them, all lurching out of various houses or hidey-holes, hundreds stumbling across the village.

And headed straight towards Hansel and Gretel.

"Gretel" Hansel whispered "What do we do?"

Gretel hesitated, and slowly put a hand on his shoulder, pulling him, step by step, back towards the cottage until they were back inside.

Gretel shut the door with a soft _click! _And she and Hansel looked at each-other, both wearing identical looks of fear.

"Oh, Hansel, there you are!" came Belle's voice from behind them, and the twins turned to see the look of relief on her face, she knelt before the boy.

"Where were you?" she said, not truly seeing his terrified look.

"Outside" he said, his voice monotone. Belle gasped in shock.

"Hansel!" she scolded "You _cannot_ go outside! Not yet! What if They were out there?"

"It's too late for that" Gretel interrupted, her voice so tight it sounded like she was choking.

Belle turned to her, a frown on her face "What do you mean?"

"They're already out there. Lot's of them" Gretel said, her voice starting to crack, and Belle's eyes widened "They're...they're coming this way!"

The older woman hid a gasp of terror, she released Hansel, and momentarily stepped out of the room. When she came back she was carrying her iron pole.

"We have to get out of here" she said "I've looked, and the cottage has a back door, if we go out that way the infected might not notice us"

"What if they do?" Hansel asked desperately, his voice shaking. Belle came closer to them, and once again bended down so that she was eye level with them.

"If they see us, then you have to run. I'll try and buy you as much time as possible but if I don't make it you two _have _to stay together. You can't separate, do you understand?"

They nodded.

"Good, do you remember where I told you to go? Rumplestiltskin's Palace, remember that"

Again they nodded.

"Alright" Belle said, nodding herself and standing up. She looked at them "I know it seems scary, but it's going to be O.k"

Suddenly, Hansel let out a small sob, rushed forward and hugged Belle as tightly as she could.

Belle was surprised, but she hugged him back.

"You saved us" he mumbled into her dress "From that zombie, you stopped it from hurting us. You saved us" he said again, and Belle laughed.

"Saved _you?" _she said, and she looked up at Gretel, who's eyes were shining "You two saved _me. _If you hadn't opened that door when you did, those Things would've killed me. Thank-you"

Suddenly, much like her sibling, Gretel rushed to Belle and clasped her in a hug. Belle laughed again and untangled herself from them. They were both crying now.

Belle looked out of a nearby window, and took a sharp intake of breath.

The zombies were getting closer, if they didn't leave now, it would be too late.

She turned back to Hansel and Gretel, clutching her iron bar in her hand.

"We have to go now"

OUAT

Belle opened the back door, she looked out and saw that the outside was completely devoid of the infected.

She gestured with her iron bar, and Hansel and Gretel walked out of the cottage on shaking legs.

Belle stepped out of the cottage too, and shut the door behind her.

And then they began to run.

They headed out of the village, towards the forest, where hopefully they could get as far away as possible from the infected.

Belle suddenly heard a roar come from behind her, and she looked back briefly to see almost an entire village-full of zombies running after them. And they were _fast._

Belle ran harder, her feet pounding furiously on the ground.

"_Go faster!" _she screamed ahead at Hansel and Gretel _"Don't look back!"_

Not bothering to check if they had headed her words or not, Belle stopped and turned, swinging her iron bar and smashing in the head of one of the infected.

OUAT

"The thing I want to know" Rumplestiltskin was saying, irritation biting his words "Is how the _infected, _managed to get into my palace in the first place!"

They were back in Rumplestiltskin's dining hall, Snow White was comforting a grief-wrecked Ella, while Charming, Regina and Rumplestiltskin were crowded around the end of his table, discussing recent events.

"From what I could see when Tho-when we were down there, one of the window's had been smashed" he said, Thomas' name hadn't been spoken once since they head heard of his death, and mention of his name and Ella would break down into some form of hysterical crying.

"_Smashed?!" _Rumplestiltskin's voice grew deeper and angrier "No-one can smash through those windows! Don't you think I made sure of that, _Charming?" _he sneered Snow White's affectionate nickname at him, but Charming was too full of guilt and grief to respond.

"Maybe none of _us _can" Regina said, sounding exasperated "But those Things are immune to magic. They can smash through a window"

Rumplestiltskin turned to her, a look of disbelief on his face.

"They're not guarded by _magic, _Dearie" he said, his voice higher than usual "The glass on them is so thick it'd take ten orgers to break through. Five of the infected couldn't do it"

"Well, _clearly _they did!" Regina snapped back, and the imp automatically fired up.

Then Snow White broke in.

"Wait a minuet" she said, a strange look on her face "Charming, did you say that...a window leading to _inside the Palace _had been smashed?"

Charming nodded "Yes, why?"

Snow White swallowed, she now looked scared "And that..._five zombies _got inside?"

Again, the prince nodded "Yes. Why?"

"Because that window is still shattered" Rumplestiltskin said, his voice layered with terrible realisation "And if five of them found their way in-"

"There could be more on the way" Snow White whispered.

No-one said anything, there was no sound except for Ella's continued sobbing over her lost love.

Then, Charming moved to the back dining room doors. When he closed them, he turned to Rumplestiltskin.

"We need to lock these, do you have a key?" he said. Rumplestiltskin clicked his fingers, and Charming heard a click.

He tried the door, it was locked.

"No need of keys, Dearie" Rumplestiltskin said, waggling his fingers.

Regina rolled her eyes.

Suddenly, there was a tremendous banging on the front door. Like Ella's and Thomas' the day previously, it was panicked and scared, and followed by frantic screaming.

"Can't seem to keep them away" Rumplestiltskin quipped, and he walked to the dining hall door and opened it, heading to the front door.

When he opened it, two children he had never seen before were stood before him, a girl in a dress with long blonde plaits, and a brown haired boy in a waistcoat. The girl was taller than the boy, and they were panting like they had been running for a long time.

They stared up at him, their fear bright in their eyes. Rumplestiltskin smirked, and raised an eyebrow.

"And what can I do for you two children on this _fine _day?" he squeaked. The boy took a step back.

"Sh-she said this was a safe place!" he said, so quickly the Dark One almost didn't catch it.

His grin got wider, showing his discoloured teeth.

"She?" he said "Who is She?"

"B-Belle" the girl said, moving a little closer to her brother.

Rumplestiltskin's breath stopped in his chest, his grip tightened on the door and his entire body felt like lead.

She was lying. She had to be. Belle was dead, he knew that.

Rumplestiltskin's grin disappeared, and he fixed the stupid girl with a terrifying glare.

"Don't lie to me, girl" he snarled, and she actually whimpered in fear "It won't save you"

"W-we're not lying!" the boy said, his voice squeaking with fear "Belle said we would be safe here!"

"You're lying!" his voice rose, and he was close to throwing the children to the infected himself.

"We're not!" the girl cried "Belle said-"

"_Belle is de-!"_

"_RUMPLESTILTSKIN!"_

Rumplestiltskin was cut off from his furious scream by a sound he had always dreamt of hearing again but never, _never _thought he would.

Her voice, Belle's voice.

He looked up, and saw her running as fast as she could across his courtyard, she was holding a long iron pipe in her hand, her hair was messy and unkempt, and blood covered her clothes and parts of her face.

And he had never seen anything so beautiful.

"RUMPLESTILTSKIN!" she screamed again, hurtling towards him.

"_BELLE!" _he screamed her name, and ushered the boy and girl-who looked incredibly relieved-into his Palace.

When the beauty finally reached her beast, she flung herself into his arms, clinging onto him as if she could never let him go, her tears falling onto his torn, bloodied shoulder.

And he clung to her just as tightly, burying his face into her hair, breathing in her scent, as if trying to memorise everything about her.

"It's you" he whispered into her hair "It's you"

"Yes" she said, laughing as tears still falling from her dark eyes "It's me"

"Belle"

"Rumplestiltskin"

He drew back from her hair so he could look into her face, that beautiful, sweet face he had mourned for, those ruby lips he had dreamed about kissing so many times...

And now, finally, he could kiss her, Dark One curse be damned. He pulled his face out of her hair, took a moment to look into her beautiful face, and leaned in to press his lips to hers

But before he could, there was a huge roar from behind her, and Belle and Rumplestiltskin looked to see at least thirty of the infected stood at the Dark Palace's gate, when they saw them standing at the doorway they began their bloodthirsty pursuit.

"Quickly" Rumplestiltskin said, pushing Belle into the Palace "Inside!"

Once they were both safely inside, Rumplestiltskin slammed the doors shut and magically locked them. Soon after, the infected were hammering on the door.

"Oh gods, Rumplestiltskin I'm sorry!" Belle said from behind him, and he turned to see her looking horror-struck "I think it was me, I led them here-"  
"Hey" he said softly, wrapping her into an embrace, and he stroked her tangled curls "It's O.k" he said, and Belle sighed in his arms, feeling more happy than she had in a long time.

Too soon, he pulled away, and he looked right into her eyes.

"Belle, you have to tell me what happened to you"

OUAT

Rumplestiltskin wasn't back yet, and Regina couldn't help but hope that the twisted little imp had been taken by the infected.

She had received the shock of her life when Hansel and Gretel had walked through the door, and them likewise when they had seen her judging by the way Hansel had let out a shrill little scream when he had seen her. Even though last time she had seen him, he had been jumping at the chance to live with her!

As his wife was still occupied with Ella, who_ still _wouldn't stop crying, Charming had seen to the twins. Right now he was asking them how they had made it here at all.

And Gretel's answer had made her lose the ability to breathe.

"We were looking for a way out when we found a girl trapped in a prison cell. She helped us"

"Who was she?" Charming had asked.

"Her name's Belle"

_Oh crap._

_Maybe...Maybe she didn't make it _Regina reassured herself while trying to fight off the images of what Rumplestiltskin would do to her if he found out she had lied about Belle's death.

_After all, she didn't come through with them, so maybe-_

Her train of thought was interrupted by an inhuman roar of pure rage, and everyone turned in silent shock towards the door. Even Ella stopped crying in shock.

A mere second later, the doors exploded open, and before Regina could even resume breathing, Rumplestiltskin had lifted her off the floor by her neck, his strange-skinned hand so tight on her throat she was gasping for breath.

"You lied to me" he growled, his voice so fearsome and full of venom and malice that no-one in the room dared to move "You kept her _locked up! _You let me believe she was _DEAD!" _his grip tightened as he screamed the last word, and Regina fought for breath.

Hansel and Gretel held onto each-other's hands, gripping tightly in fear. Snow White and Ella watched the situation with wide, scared eyes, while Charming's hand rested on the handle of his sword.

"You deserve to _die!_" Rumplestiltskin hissed "I should throw you out there right now! Let the infected consume you!"

"Rumplestiltskin, no!"

The spectators turned to look at the blue-clothed woman who had spoken. She strode straight to Rumplestiltskin and put a hand on the arm he was using to strangle the Evil Queen, she looked at him beseechingly.

"Don't do this!" she begged him. His grip didn't loosen, and Regina's world started to go dark "Rumplestiltskin! Don't!"

"She kept you locked up, Belle! She told me you were _dead!"_ Rumplestiltskin shouted, turning his livid face to her.

"I know!" Belle cried, again tugging on his arm "Rumple, _please!_"

He still didn't let the Queen go, her own grip on his arm was loosening.

"For me!"

The unrelenting, begging tone in her voice got to him. His livid look softened, and Regina fell to the ground, sucking in lungfuls of air.

"...You..." she gasped "...Bastard!..."

_**O.k! This is the third chapter in my Apocalypse series, and I'm really really really sorry that it's so late. If you check my profile you can see that I'm working on something special for you lot to make up for it.**_

_**So, anyway, please read and review, and be on the lookout for the fourth-and hopefully final-instalment of Once Upon A Time: Zombie Apocalypse**_


	4. Chapter 4

_**Disclaimer: Once Upon A Time does not belong to me! All characters and references to the show belong to ABC and Channel 5.**_

Once Upon a Time: Zombie Apocalypse

Chapter 4

With a small cry, Ella's eyes shot open, the nightmare of her poor Thomas dying right before her eyes still fresh in her mind.

She blinked the sleep out of her eyes, and frowned at the soft hammering noise she could hear, but couldn't quite place.

Then she remembered.

Of course.

They were still out there.

The zombies. The infected. Them.

Though they were hammering on the doors from the outside, all eight people trapped in Rumplestiltskin's dining room tried to sleep through the roar of the starving population as they tried to force their way into what they could undoubtedly consider a feast.

But Ella didn't care, she didn't care that she was surrounded by zombies. She didn't care that she could die any second. She didn't care that she might never see the sun again.

Because he was gone. Her husband. Her prince. Her true love.

Her Thomas.

From across the room, the widowed princess looked at the sleeping forms of Snow White and James, up against the dining room door with a blanket from the pile Rumplestiltskin had been persuaded (no prizes for guessing who had managed it) to conjure up. James' arms were wrapped around Snow White, and her head lay peacefully on his chest.

She suddenly stirred in her sleep with a distressed moan, a frown forming in her forehead, but James' arms tightened protectively around his wife, and she relaxed.

Ella felt an ache in her heart and a tear on her cheek as she realised she would never have anyone to comfort her like that again, she would never be able to retreat into the comfort of the arms of someone she truly loved ever again.

Ella turned her gaze away from them, and was met instead by Rumplestiltskin and Belle, who had a slumbering Hansel and Gretel beside them.

Like James and Snow White, they too were coupled together, Belle's head resting on Rumplestiltskin's shoulder as she slept, his arm curled around her shoulder.

The connection between them had been obvious the second she had stopped him from killing the queen, the fearless way she had put her hands on his arm, the way he had bowed to her will almost instantly.

He loved her, and she loved him.

Ella almost smiled at the strangeness of that thought. Almost.

She looked away from them too, and instead looked towards the Queen, who had been curled up somewhere near the table.

But she wasn't there. Where the Evil Queen was supposed to be sleeping under a thin blanket, there was nothing except rumpled material.

Ella frowned "Regina?" she whispered, scanning the room.

It was then she noticed that the back door to the dining hall, the door that had been locked, the door that _must be locked _in case any of the infected got in, was no longer locked.

Instead, it was wide open.

Ella got up, her blanket falling around her, and moved over to Snow White and James, and she gently shook the princes shoulder until he awoke, blinking several times before focusing on her.

"Ella?" he said, his voice thick with sleep "What is it?"

Instead of responding, Ella pointed to the open door to the dining room, and James' eyes widened when he saw it.

"What the-?" he whispered, and Ella shrugged, eyebrows raised in confusion.

"I don't know!" she hissed "And Regina's gone too!"

"What?!" he snapped, and the movement it caused awoke the woman sleeping on his chest.

"J-James?" she yawned. She turned her head and saw Ella bending over them "Ella? What's going on?"

"Regina's gone" James whispered, starting to stand up, a hand on his sword.

"What?" Snow White mumbled, then she too noticed the still open door "Oh gods..." she muttered, and she stood up too.

James started to move towards the door, but Snow White grabbed his arm and tried to pull him back.

"What are you doing?!" she hissed.

"I'm going after her" he whispered back, he didn't sound to enthusiastic about the idea.

Snow White missed a beat "_Why?"_

"Yeah, why?" Ella asked quietly. Why save someone so detestable?

James sighed "Because, if there are any infected in the Palace, they could find her and she could lead them right to us!"

He pulled his arm out of her grasp, and looked into her agonised face.

"I'll be right back" he said, and Ella had to turn away when he kissed her. It just hurt too much.

Ella heard James' footsteps moving away, and turned back to see him at the door of the dining hall. Just about to leave.

Ella hesitated, and then followed him.

"Ella?" Snow White whispered after her. Ella ignored her, and continued after her friends husband.

At the sound of following footsteps, James turned around "Sn-"

He stopped when he saw that it was not, in fact, the feisty Snow White, but the recently widowed, delicate Cinderella, looking up at him with a look that showed nothing other than unflinching determination.

"I'm coming with you" she whispered, and James gave her a look of pity and shook his head.

"Ella-" he started, but she cut him off.

"Last time, you and Thomas-" James flinched at his name, but Ella spoke past it "Went alone, and I lost my husband. I am _not, _going to let that happen again. I'm coming with you, James"

"Ella" Snow White's whisper appeared next to her, and she was looking at her with the same pity that James was showing "Think about what you're saying. You _can't _go!"

Ella ducked into the hallway suddenly, and grabbed a torch-that was magically still lit-from the wall.

"What have I got to lose, Snow?" she said to her. Snow White didn't respond. And instead turned to James. She didn't even need to speak, he just saw the look on her face, groaned, and pulled out another torch from the hallway.

"O.k" he said "Lets go"

OUAT

There was a distant scream very close to them from where they were, in the depths of the castle, and everyone froze, listening. Again there was a shrill, terrified scream.

"That's Regina" Snow White said, starting forward ahead of Charming and turning a corner in the long corridor, and charging into the open chamber where the scream had come from.

"Snow!" Charming called after her disappearing form "_Wait!"_

But there was no point to his words, because Snow White had already stopped.

She had stopped moving, stopped blinking, stopped thinking.

Because there, inside what looked like a large, ancient version of Rumplestiltskin's laboratory, was Regina, backed up against the wall and looking more scared than she ever had in her life.

Ten zombies had her backed up against the wall, why they hadn't attacked her yet was a complete mystery to Snow White. She figured they must still be in some form of stalk mode.

"Snow-"

Ella and Charming came up behind her, starting to call her name, but they too froze solid at the sight of the inevitable attack.

The Evil Queen heard Ella's call, and slowly turned her head. When she saw the princesses and prince stood at the doorway, a flash of hope mingled with fear flashed in her eyes, and she mouthed two desperate words to them.

"_Help. Me!"_

Snow White, Ella, and Prince Charming, hesitated at the door. On the one hand, this woman was insane, vain, malicious and malevolent, who wanted Snow White dead and everyone to be miserable.

On the other, they couldn't just leave her to be eaten-or possible turned-by the infected.

Which led to Charming being the first to charge into the room, pulling out his sword and stabbing the first zombie-which turned out to be Doc the Dwarf-through the forehead.

Unknown to him, another of the infected came up behind him, one that Snow White recognised as Sleepy. Immediately, she ran forward, hitting the dwarf as hard as she could on the back of the head.

"Regina, go!" Snow White heard Ella scream as she too came forward, Snow White heard the whistle of wind in her ear, and turned to see the fallen zombie form of a green-clothed fairy, and her stepmother heading out of the door.

Snow White turned around to strike the zombie form of none other than Regina's father from behind, when her weapon suddenly disappeared.

Snow White's eyes widened in fear, and she heard Ella scream in fear.

She turned around, and saw Ella on the floor, a human zombie biting chunks out of the young princess. Her weapon was nowhere to be seen.

"_SNOW!" _Charming screamed from behind her, and she turned around again just in time to see him intercept the infected Grumpy just before he sank his teeth into her husband. His sword was nowhere to be seen.

"_NO!" _Snow White screamed, backing away towards the door as the zombies attempted to corner her. "NO, CHARMING! _NO!"_

Snow White heard a low, seductive chuckle, and she turned to see that Regina was still in the doorway, and in her hands, surrounded by the magic she had used to summon them, were two wooden torches, and Charmings sword.

Snow White stared at her evil, insane stepmother, barely noticing when an infected grabbed hold of her arms and pulled her deeper into the room. Regina's grin got wider, and she started to close the door.

"This, dear step-daughter" she said, victory dripping from her words "Is where you _finally _get what's coming to you"

"_REGINA!" _Snow White screamed in fury and pain as the zombie that had her bit into her neck.

For a few moments, Regina simply watched her scream and thrash in her own blood as she was devoured, cursing Regina's name one minuet, begging for her help the next.

Finally, her stomach churning, Regina closed the door. Her stepdaughters fresh screams like music in her ears.

OUAT

Rumplestiltskin opened his eyes.

Was that a scream? A howl of pain? He had definitely heard something.

It was just starting to get light outside, so he could see that Snow White, James, Ella, and Regina were all gone.

He frowned. His palace had possibly been taken over by an army of bloodthirsty freaks, and they had gone out for a midnight stroll?

Rumplestiltskin shrugged. He didn't really care what happened to them, and he definitely didn't care what happened to Regina.

In fact, it would be a definite perk to the outbreak if Regina was turned, and _he _got to be the one to kill her.

He looked down to his left, where Belle was still sleeping against his shoulder, her tangled hair was curling around her cheek and neck, and her white skin was faintly flushed from sleep, her red lips slightly parted.

Gently, he brushed a lock of hair from her face, a smile forming on the imps face at the thrill it gave him to touch her again.

Rumplestiltskin heard a sigh, and jerked his head over to where Hansel and Gretel slept, he thought back to when the girl-Gretel-had told him who had sent them here, how he had been about to turn the girl into something horrible-maybe a snail-and slam the door in their faces.

If he had indeed done that, Belle could've been taken by the horde.

His smile faded. No. He couldn't, _wouldn't, _allow that to happen. He had lost her once, and he would be damned if it was going to happen again.

Belle suddenly stirred and opened her eyes, she looked around the room until she located, first Hansel and Gretel, then Rumplestiltskin. She smiled up at him and rested her head back on his shoulder.

"Morning" she whispered, and he squeezed her shoulder.

"Morning, Dearie"

"Where is everyone?" she asked, and he shrugged.

"I don't know. They must've gone into the castle" he said, and she jerked away from him and stood up, when she turned back to Rumplestiltskin, she looked panic-stricken.

"If they've gone further into the castle, they could be killed! W-wasn't there a way they could get in or something?"

"Yes. Through a broken window"

It was Regina's voice that answered her, and Rumplestiltskin stood up and turned to her the same time Belle did.

The Evil Queen walked through the dining hall door, her dress was lightly spattered with blood, her hair was messy and falling down her back, and she carried Prince Charmings sword in her hand.

But what truly-for want of a better word-unsettled the Dark One, was the insane, triumphant look she wore on her face. She looked like a crazy, bratty child that had finally gotten what they wanted.

Rumplestiltskin looked at the blood on Regina's clothes, and realised that might not be far from the truth.

Instinctively, he moved over to Belle, wrapping a protective arm around her waist.

Regina snickered "You know, it was surprisingly easy" she said to him "To get out of that _dungeon _you locked me in" she began walking towards them, sword hung loosely at her side.

"What are you talking about?" Rumplestiltskin asked her, and her smile grew wider, showing her perfect white teeth. And then it dawned on him.

"Oh" he said "It was _you!" _he wasn't angry, or even shocked really. He was just surprised it had taken him this long to realise, knowing Regina's nature.

Regina threw her head back and laughed, so loudly that the sleeping Hansel and Gretel stirred in their sleep.

She looked back at Rumplestiltskin and Belle, and started to move closer.

"You let them in" he said, phrasing it as a statement rather than a question.

"You catch on quick, _dearie" _she laughed again.

"Why?" Belle gasped, and Regina turned to her, an eyebrow arched. The young girl looked scared and confused. The same look she had worn when Regina had visited her in her cell, if she remembered correctly.

"Why?" Regina said to her, watching in amusement as the Dark One's hand-the one that was resting on her waist-twitched closer to her.

"Why let them in? They could kill us all!" Belle cried, pulling away from Rumplestiltskin and moving beseechingly to the still grinning woman.

"Oh no, dear" Regina said "Not all of us. Just one of us"

Belle was undoubtedly confused, until from behind her, Rumplestiltskin spoke.

"Snow White"

"Yes!" Regina seemed pleased that he had caught on to this.

"That's what it _aaaall_ about" he trilled "Your ridiculous quest for revenge"

Regina's smirk faded away "Screw you"

"And what of the prince?"he continued like she hadn't spoken "The young Cinderella?"

Regina sniffed contemptuously "Collateral damage"

"You're insane!" Belle shrieked, so loudly that Hansel and Gretel momentarily woke up. They looked around with bleary eyes for a moment, and then fell back to sleep.

"Me?" Regina said to Belle, a smile still playing on her full red lips "You're the one who fell in love with a Monster"

And then she took one final step forward, raised James' sword, and stabbed Belle in the chest.

Belle gasped in pain as the blade went through her, slicing through her skin and into her heart. Regina then yanked the sword out, and Belle collapsed to the ground.

"_NO!" _Rumplestiltskin roared, rushing forward to Belle, her blood staining her dress with astonishing speed.

Regina snickered "Like I'd ever allow _you, _one moment of happiness"

Rumplestiltskin looked up at her, and Regina actually flinched at the look of rage and malice on his golden face.

"Run" he snarled "While your legs are still attached to your body"

Regina smirked one last time "I will. But first I have a little departing gift for you"

She clapped her hands twice, and all of the windows in the dining hall shattered. Making Hansel and Gretel-newly awake from Rumplestiltskin's scream and the horror of Regina's assault-scream with shock and fear.

Outside, the infected that had been waiting for so long to taste the flesh of those inside, started slowly moving towards the Dark Palace.

With one last evil cackle, the Evil Queen clicked her fingers, and vanished.

"R-Rum-" Belle coughed from inside Rumplestiltskin's arms, blood issuing forth from her mouth. Rumplestiltskin looked down at her, all looks of hate melting from his face, and being replaced by love and concern.

"Belle" he whispered her name, barely noticing as Hansel and Gretel rushed forward until they were a foot short of the couple on the ground, moving closer to Belle but at the same time keeping their distance.

Rumplestiltskin raised his hand over Belle's chest, purple magic flickering around it. He pressed it down onto Belle's wound, making her gasp in pain.

"Sorry!" he said "I'm so sorry, Belle"

Nothing was happening. Try as he might, no matter how much of his magic he put into it, the wound wouldn't repair itself, and Belle's blood continued to stain the cold floor.

"That bitch-" Hansel gasped when he said the word "-must've cursed the blade" he looked at the boy and girl, they both looked terrified-the zombies were getting closer-and tears streaked their faces as they looked at the dying woman, who had saved their lives more than once.

"I can't-" he tried, his voice catching with the huge lump of grief in his throat "I can't save her!"

"R-Rumple-" Belle coughed again, more heavily so that more blood came from her lips. Rumplestiltskin could tell from the weakness in her voice that she was fading. Fast.

"No, Belle" he wept "Don't leave me, please. Not again"

"I-I Love You" Belle said, putting a hand on his cheek, which Rumplestiltskin covered with his own hand. It was so cold.

"And I love you too" he said, tears dripping onto her face.

"Kiss me" Belle whispered, her voice sounding weak, but her eyes still bright, and pleading.

Rumplestiltskin didn't hesitate, he bent his head, and pressed his lips to hers. Kissing her gently, sweetly, the way he had always dreamt of doing ever since she left, fulfilling her last request, and breaking the curse that had bound him for so long.

Then Belle went limp in his arms, and the Dark One's heart was ripped apart as she realised that she was dead. For real this time.

Gretel suddenly screamed, and Hansel screamed "_They're here! They're in the castle!"_

Rumplestiltskin didn't look up, he barely heard them, let alone the guttural moans and growls emanating from the infected. He could only look at the beautiful face of his recently departed beauty.

He had failed to save her. She was dead because of him. Again.

The screams of Hansel and Gretel were the last things he heard as he was pulled away from Belle's body, and his own screams as Victor Frankenstein bit into his shoulder, followed by a dark haired girl in a red cloak biting into his leg.

And then Rumplestiltskin knew no more.

OUAT

Regina had appeared just outside the Dark Palace, just in time to hear Rumplestiltskin's screams as the zombies tore into him.

Regina smirked, turned around, and started walking. It was about time that imp got his comeuppance.

As Regina walked, James' sword heavy in her hand, she began to think about the events that had transpired in the Palace, how she had rushed out of the dining hall, screaming so that Snow White would hear her and come running.

Gods, that girl was so stupid, it had been to easy to lure her to her death.

Regina stopped. Her _death._

Snow White's death.

For the second time that day, The Evil Queen threw her head back and let out a huge, long, hysterical shout of laughter.

"She's _dead!" _she screamed with joy. That big-mouthed princess was finally dead!

Regina laughed and screamed with joy, so much so, that she almost didn't hear it when a twig snapped behind her.

The Queen continued to laugh weakly until she turned around, then her laughter caught in her throat, replaced by crippling, paralysing terror.

They must've seen her from the palace, and crept up on her when she wasn't looking.

There were hundreds of Them, all stood there staring at her, nothing but hunger and malice in their milky eyes.

Regina stared at them, among the infected army was everyone she had ever wronged. Cinderella, Prince Charming, Red Riding Hood, Hansel, Gretel, The Blue Fairy, The Seven Dwarfs, Rumplestiltskin.

And right at the front of the hungry mob, her clothes ripped apart with bite-marks and blood covering every inch of her white skin, was Snow White herself.

They held each-other's gaze for a few long moments, then Snow White grinned a terrible, bloodthirsty grin, and Regina turned, and started running as fast as she could.

It wasn't fast enough though, with a blood-crazed roar, the army was after her, and the Evil Queen screamed in terror as something grabbed onto her legs and pulled her to the ground.

Regina screamed again when she was dragged across the grass, flipped onto her back, and found was looking into the terrifying, bloody face of the Dark One.

Regina gasped, and tried to fight him as he pinned her arms to the ground, but he was too strong.

Then, Rumplestiltskin roared in hunger, and Regina screamed as he sank his teeth deep into her cheek.

THE END

_**Ok, so that was the fairytale zombie apocalypse (Only over a week late, I do apologise) please read and review, and be on the lookout for my requested sequel to Smashed: Trollied. Uploading soon!**_


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